To our beloved friends and family at Shepherd’s Grace Church,

Thank you for taking my wife and me into your family 10 years ago.

Thank you for challenging us to know God.

Thank you for encouraging us to love the Bible.

Thank you for forgiving me and allowing healing and restoration to my life and ministry.

Thank you for loving my foster children and my son.

Thank you for being so real.

Thank you for letting me lead you in worship over the years.

Thank you for sacrificing to serve one another and the communities around us.

Thank you for countless hours of working behind the scenes without recognition and fame.

Thank you for singing your hearts out to God in worship together.

Thank you for learning to listen to your imperfect elders, in obedience to God.

Thank you for laughing, for bright smiles, and for your tears.

Thank you for praying for God’s people time and time again.

Thank you for warm fellowship and a place to belong in love and strength.

Thank you for being reliable and faithful friends that we can count on.

Thank you for working so hard together to figure out the Lord’s leading and calling.

Thank you for your passion to see the brokenhearted reached with God’s love.

Thank you for reaching out to the poor and needy.

Thank you for sending and supporting missionaries with God’s love to the nations.

Thank you for serving on committees.

Thank you for teaching our children.

Thank you for loving the youth.

Thank you for visiting the wounded and dying in the hospitals.

Thank you for supporting each other in the hardest times of life.

Thank you for accepting less than perfect people into the family (which is all of us!).

Thank you for taking care of new mothers and fathers.

Thank you for helping with the loss of loved ones.

Thank you for staying and working through hard times at the church.

Thank you for moving forward in faith to a new adventure together with new friends, new family, new leaders.

Thank  you for your love.

We will cherish our time together with all of you. And I look forward to seeing the work of God continue in a new way with our new family at Grace Church of Greater Akron. We are so thankful for your love and friendship over the years, and will always look on our time at Shepherd’s Grace with affection. We are also glad to be moving on to a new adventure with all of you!

– Chad and Allyson